Smart Meter Fires

Gibsons Fire rages while crews wait

A home in Gibsons was left to burn Oct. 26 while fire crews waited about 35 minutes for BC Hydro to arrive on scene and disconnect the power so crews could direct their water at the base of the blaze.

“Part of the problem was that part of the fire was right where the hydro lines came in so we couldn’t get too close until we actually had Hydro on scene to disconnect. So they had to let it go a little bit longer than usual,” said Gibsons Fire Chief Bob Stevens.

Stevens said the women can’t return home because the house is “a write-off.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but Stevens said there is evidence an electrical problem may have caused the blaze.

Couple forced out of home

A Campbell River couple was forced to spend two nights away from home after an electrical fire broke out in their apartment complex last week.

The fire, which started in the electrical room around 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 25, destroyed the panel that controls the power in one of the units.

BC Hydro was unable to turn the power back on in the affected unit and the couple were put up at a hotel, said Acting Fire Chief Ian Baikie.

“I believe those residents were without a place for two nights as they were waiting for repairs,” said Baikie. A provincial emergency assistance program for disaster victims helped accommodate the displaced residents

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Unusual’ number of fires, smart meters linked.

Ontario fire marshal says faulty base plates could be the cause, similar to Mission blaze

“A lot of times, when you pull something apart, if it’s been there for 30 years it’s probably going to be rusted in or hard in. So they have to give it a little bit of a jerk or a twist. That jerk or twist may be what sets the whole thing in motion,” Strain said Friday. If there’s a problem, he added, it’s possible that a contractor without formal electrical training may miss it.